On the brink of losing, Eagles rally by Blazers

At the beginning of the fourth game Thursday night, Exeter coach Jason Grove knew his team was on the ropes.

Archrival Daniel Boone was doing just about everything right in executing its gameplan, and the Eagles were on the brink of losing a regular season contest to the Blazers for the first time in two years.

"We needed that wake-up call," Grove said. "The girls regained their composure after we were getting beat so badly. I told them at the beginning of game 4 that it was 0-0."

Exeter battled back in the final two games and took Boone the distance to win the Berks I contest 3-2 at Reiffton. The game scores of 25-23, 14-25, 12-25, 26-24, 15-13, showed just how much the Eagles (4-0, 4-0) were struggling in the middle matches.

Behind the line play of Liama Goodrich and Meghan Stack, Boone (2-1, 2-1) didn't have to slam the ball into the court. Instead, it caught Exeter flatflooted with dinks that lightly fell to the floor as several Eagles scrambled for the ball.

"It was an excellent game plan and if I were coaching against our team I'd use it," Grove said. "The hardest part of a plan is the execution and everyone out there (from Boone) needed to do it to beat us."

Boone still could've taken care of business in the fourth game as it led 14-13 at one point and tied it at 24-24. However, the Eagles eked out a fifth game when Sara Wesley and Danielle Faust scored kills to make it 26-24.

The fifth game went back and forth and the Blazers appeared to have the upper hand when they took a 12-8 lead.

The Eagles regained the momentum one more time when Lindsey Edsall had back-to-back kills. Boone scored one more point on a kill from Goodrich.

Exeter continued to attack as Wesley, Kady Faller and Emma Rossetti each scored kills to end the match with Anna Raneiri, who had 36 assists, setting them up.

"So much of this is mental," Grove said. "I could tell by the body language in games 2 and 3 that we weren't playing well. In games 4 and 5 the body language was different and they were playing more aggressive."

Goodrich led Boone with 16 kills and 17 digs; Stack had 14 kills and setter Erika Spina had 46 assists.

"These are the best two teams in the division and it's always a battle," said Celia, who went through several herself as a Boone player. "We'll be better next time."

The Eagles and Blazers will meet again Oct. 11 at Birdsboro.

Exeter resumes league play Tuesday at Gov. Mifflin; Boone will travel to Muhlenberg Monday.